The Pretoria High Court has issued an interim interdict preventing the burial of former Zambian president Edgar Lungu in South Africa.

The order follows an urgent application by the Zambian attorney-general, who sought to stop the planned funeral proceedings on Wednesday. The legal action is the latest development in a growing dispute between the Zambian government and Lungu’s family over the location and nature of his burial.

Lungu’s relatives have expressed their wish to hold a private ceremony in South Africa, rather than a state funeral in Zambia. This decision appears to stem from tensions between the late leader and his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema, with whom Lungu had a long and strained political relationship.

The court’s ruling came as some of Lungu’s family members gathered at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, where the funeral had been scheduled to take place.

Lungu passed away earlier this month at a medical facility in Pretoria, where he had been receiving specialised care.